“The Baywatch” and “Knight Rider” actor talked about his own brand in the very first seminar of Cannes Lions 2014, admitting that his alter-ego The Hoff has taken over his former actor self.

Talking in a session about brand relevance with agency Golin, Hasselhof said he was contacted by Sydney’s Daily Telegraph around ten years ago, telling him the name “The Hoff’ had gone viral.

He said: “So, I went to Australia and went on TV and they were putting these lines to me, so I decided the way to attack humor is to come back with humor and I said ‘Don’t Hassle the Hoff’.

“Now The Hoff has eclipsed David Hasselhoff, so I just go with it.”

And The Hoff did not disappoint the Cannes crowd, mugging up for pictures on the beach in a Baywatch-style red jacket and float, joking around with the local police, then posing spread-eagled on a recreation of his “Knight Rider” car Kitt.